Memoirs of a Lone Wanderer
by molhant
Summary: I have gone on a great journey through life, and now its time to tell that story. The Story of the Lone Wanderer.
1. Prolouge

War. War never changes. In my travels across the Capital Wasteland has this ever been clearer to me. I have seen fighting new wars being raged over the same old causes. Even now after being the Elder of the Capital Brotherhood of Steel for forty years the same war still rages. I gained the title after the previous Elder, Elder Lyons, passed down the role to me before he passed away. Now at the twilight of my own life, the other senior members have asked me to pass down my story to the Initiates. They may know me as the Elder, but there was a time when I went by a different title. This is a story of that time. The Story of the Lone Wanderer.


	2. Chapter 1

My earliest memory is that of my 10th birthday in Vault 101, which is where I was born. Dad had thrown a party for me in the Vault's main dining area, and invited Amata, my best friend, along with the other children in Vault 101, Butch DeLoria, Freddie Gomez, and Wallie Mack, and several of our friends in the Vault.

After the "happy birthdays" were over, the Overseer, who is Amata's father, came to me and said, "Now that you're 10, you are old enough to begin your Vault duties. To help you with that, take this", as he gave me a Pip-Boy 3000. Even then, I could hear the content in his voice when he talked to me.

After he left, Amata came to me asking if the party was a surprise. Even though I overheard her and Dad planning the part, not wanting to hurt her feelings, I told her that I never saw it coming and thank you. She asked, "I guess you can't guess what I got you for your birthday?" Wanting to tease her I answered, "Is it a kiss from Susie Mack?" Amata's face turned as red as I have ever seen it before or since.

"No silly. Its Grognack the Barbarian issues 14. With no missing pages", she said as she handed it over. My face was beaming. Amata knew I was searching all over the Vault for one. I continued to mingle with my other guests. Stanley, the Vault's maintenance worker, told me that it was him that fixed up my Pip-Boy, and gave me a baseball cap from before the Great War. Old Lady Palmer, the Vault's resident grandmother, was kind enough to make me a sweetroll that I did not have to share with the others. Then it was time to cut the cake. We made the mistake of asking Andy, the Vault's Mister Handy, to cut the cake. He actually tried to cut it with his utility saw, splattering the cake all over the kitchen.

That is when Butch demanded that I give him the sweetroll I got from Old Lady Palmer. I told him that it was my birthday and I did not have to share. He responded with, "Who said anything about sharing? I want the whole thing." I refused and he decided to take it by force. We started fighting, and by the time Officer Gomez stopped the fight, we both covered in bruises.

After I got cleaned up, Dad told me that he and his assistant Jonas had a surprise for me down in the reactor level. As I left I saw the Overseer leave and decided to follow him. I followed closely behind him making sure not to be seen, as he met up with Officer Mack. I overheard him telling Officer Mack that the only reason he went to my party was because Amata was friends with "that little brat". What had I done for him to hate me so?

I backtracked and made my way to the reactor level. Jonas met me there asking, "What are you doing here? Children are not allowed on the reactor level." I told him that I was 10 and not a kid anymore. At this point Dad came into the room trying to hide something behind his back. He said, "Now that you are 10 and old enough to take on some vault duties, you are old enough to have this." He presented me with my own BB gun. I asked how he found it. He said that he and Jonas found it in the reactor level badly damaged and that it took months to fix. He said that the last missing part was a tiny spring, he which he took from Butch's "toothpick", which Butch "misplaced". After I was done admiring my gift, I asked where I could fire it. Dad revealed a door that he and Jonas hid behind some crates, opening up to a makeshift shooting gallery, where I could come whenever I wanted. After firing at some targets a radroach appeared. Knowing how much of a nuisance they could be, I quickly killed it with a shot to the head. After taking a picture with dad, I headed back home and quickly fell asleep, hoping that my life would never change.


	3. Chapter 2

The next six years seemed to pass by at a crawl. Whenever I was not being assigned menial work orders by the Overseer, I was in class with Mr. Brotch. As my 16th birthday was coming closer, I knew that the G.O.A.T. was not far behind. When the day came, I headed over to Dad's office to try to fake sick my way out of the test. Not one to be easily fooled, he saw through me and sent me straight to class.

As I headed from the classroom, I found Amata being bullied by Butch and his gang, the "Tunnel Snakes", Wallie Mack and Freddie Gomez. Being the friend that I was to Amata, I tried to convince them to leave. When that failed I was able to tricked Wallie into leaving by telling him that Butch was using him and Freddie as doormats. When the two left, Butch sensing that he was outnumber, decided that Amata was not worth his time and left. Amata thanked me and we both headed into the classroom. When everyone had arrived, Mr. Brotch explained that the G.O.A.T. was an appitude test to see what job in the Vault we would be best at. With that he began the test.

Question 1  
>You are approached by a frenzied Vault scientist, who yells, "I'm going to put my quantum harmonizer in your photonic resonation chamber!" What's your response?<p>

1. "But doctor, wouldn't that cause a parabolic destabilization of the fission singularity?"  
>2. "Yeah? Up yours too, buddy!"<br>3. Say nothing, grab a nearby pipe and hit the scientist in the head to knock him out. For all you knew, he was planning to blow up the vault.  
>4. Say nothing, but slip away before the scientist can continue his rant.<p>

I answered one.

Question 2  
>While working as an intern in the Clinic, a patient with a strange infection on his foot stumbles through the door. The infection is spreading at an alarming rate, but the doctor has stepped out for a while. What do you do?<br>1. Amputate the foot before the infection spreads  
>2. Scream for help<br>3. Medicate the infected area to the best of your abilities  
>4. Restrain the patient, and merely observe as the infection spreads<p>

I answered four.

Question 3  
>You discover a young boy lost in the lower levels of the Vault. He's hungry and frightened, but also appears to be in possession of stolen property. What do you do?<br>1. Give the boy a hug and tell him everything will be OK  
>2. Confiscate the property by force, and leave him there as punishment<br>3. Pick the boy's pocket to take the stolen property for yourself, and leave the boy to his fate  
>4. Lead the boy to safety, then turn him over to the overseer.<p>

I answered one.

Question 4  
>Congratulations! You made one of the Vault 101 baseball teams! Which position do you prefer?<br>1. Pitcher  
>2. Catcher<br>3. Designated Hitter  
>4. None, you wish the vault had a soccer team<p>

I answered one.

Question 5  
>Your grandmother invites you to tea, but you're surprised when she gives you a pistol and orders you to kill another Vault resident. What do you do?<br>1. Obey your elder and kill the Vault resident with the pistol.  
>2. Offer your most prized possession for the resident's life.<br>3. Ask granny for a minigun instead. After all, you don't want to miss.  
>4. Throw your tea in granny's face.<p>

I answered two.

Question 6  
>Old Mr. Abernathy has locked himself in his quarters again, and you've been ordered to get him out. How do you proceed?<br>1. Use a bobby pin to pick the lock on the door  
>2. Trade a Vault hoodlum for his cherry bomb and blow open the lock.<br>3. Go to the armory, retrieve a laser pistol, and blow the lock off.  
>4. Just walk away and let the old coot rot.<p>

I answered three.

Question 7  
>Oh, no! You've been exposed to radiation, and a mutated hand has grown out of your stomach! What's the best course of treatment?<br>1. A bullet to the brain  
>2. Large doses of anti-mutagen agent<br>3. Prayer. Maybe God will spare you in exchange for a life of pious devotion.  
>4. Removal of the mutated tissue with a precision laser<p>

I answered four.

Question 8  
>A fellow Vault 101 resident is in possession of a Grognak the Barbarian comic book, issue number 1. You want it. What's the best way to obtain it?<br>1. Trade the comic book for one of your own valuable possessions  
>2. Steal the comic book at gunpoint<br>3. Sneak into the resident's quarters, and steal the comic book from his desk  
>4. Slip some knock out drops into the resident's Nuka-Cola, and take the comic book when he's unconscious.<p>

I answered three.

Question 9  
>You decide it would be fun to play a prank on your father. You enter his private restroom when no one is looking, and...<br>1. Loosen some bolts on some pipes. When the sink is turned on, the room will flood.  
>2. Put a firecracker in the toilet. That's sure to cause some chaos<br>3. Break into the locked medicine cabinet and replace his high blood pressure medication with sugar pills  
>4. Manipulate the power wattage on his razor, so he'll get an electric shock next time he shaves<p>

I answered one.

Question 10  
>Who is indisputably the most important person in Vault 101: He who shelters us from the harshness of the atomic wasteland, and to whom we owe everything we have, including our lives?<br>1. The Overseer  
>2. The Overseer<br>3. The Overseer  
>4. The Overseer<p>

As he read this question, I could hear the sarcasm dripping off Mr. Brotch.

When I finished my test, I handed it in to Mr. Brotch. After looking over the answers, he said, "Well, well. Pip-Boy Programmer, eh? Stanley will finally have someone to talk shop with." He showed me that my skills seemed to breakdown into science, energy weapons, and repair.

After everyone had left the classroom, Amata and I were talking about our results on the G.O.A.T.


End file.
